European Parliament on its Way to Accept ACTA?

Paris, November 24th 2010 - The European Parliament has just adopted a resolution approving the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The adopted text fails to criticize the elaboration process of ACTA and its potential impact on the online environment (including freedom of speech, privacy, innovation) and access to medicines. This vote is an invitation for citizens and civil society organizations to expose the illegitimacy and dangers of ACTA in order to convince a few additional MEPs to refuse to give their final consent to this agreement.

"This vote is a terrible blow to EU citizens. It shows that the conservatives and some of their allies can get the Parliament to vote in favor of ACTA. We must keep in mind that the most important vote will be the forthcoming 'consent' vote, when the European Parliament will have an opportunity to reject ACTA as a whole. All citizens concerned with democratic law-making, the preservation of the online ecosystem, freedom of speech, privacy and access to medicines should work with their elected representatives to make sure that the European Parliament does not give its consent to ACTA." concludes Jérémie Zimmermann, spokesperson for citizen organization La Quadrature du Net.